Tessa Masterson Will Go to Prom

High school seniors Lucas and Tessa have been lifelong friends, but when he asks her to the prom she turns him down, revealing that she is gay and has a girlfriend. Angry at this rejection and that Tessa kept something from him, Lucas betrays Tessa’s secret and even gives a mean interview to the school newspaper (“[O]ur whole Prom is going to be about her instead of being a normal dance”). There are protestors outside Tessa’s parents’ grocery store, the school administration is threatening to expel her, and the school board may cancel the prom. Franklin and Halpin’s third he said/she said collaboration (following Jenna & Josh’s Fauxmance and The Half-Life of Planets) will have readers empathizing both with Lucas’s desire to “make things right” and Tessa’s pain as she deals with hate in the hallways and at home. Lucas’s ultimate “grand gesture” is farfetched, but it’s also a fun release after an emotional story about the struggles gay teens often face and what it means to be a friend. Ages 12–up. Agents: (for Franklin) Faye Bender, Faye Bender Literary Agency; (for Halpin) Douglas Stewart, Sterling Lord Literistic. (Mar.)